Memories of an old time plumber

[howy1]

When i was an apprentice i was working with a plumber on a lead gully ,
He gave me the blowlamp and a stick of solder to wipe over some cracks in the sheet when all of a sudden there was a minny explosion in my face ,
what i had done was swept the flame across his disposable lighter and it blew my eyebrows and fringe off , all he said was you will have to replace my f***king lighter ,not how are you ... happy days

 

[Nige F]

The old plumber who liked to call himself after a Muslim Black Civil rights guy from America- We just called him a nutter

 

[Nige F]

The half- flashed chimney . Refurbing a cottage in a row - next door wouldn`t pay a bit towards having their part of chimney flashed - and so it stands to this day On the right hand side of the road from Heathfield to Burwash ( Sussex) .Every time I pass it I have to That`s the whole thing - back gutter included - I just did what I was told , as a 3rd. year apprentice in 1974 The other side still has a tiled quadrant down the side.

 

[DeltaT]

On piece work on sites in the late 70s, these f4cking union reps would always appear on site, with their suits & chat, they were a right pain in the arze!! In these days we all were card carrying - you had to be to get on site. But these cnts thought it was their right to stop us working 'Brother', and stop us earning!! So we grabbed this **** & locked him in the site bogs, man they were rough - stinking!! We started rocking the 'honeybucket' & shouting everybody out!! Poor guy was in there for four hours before we let him out, didn't see him again on site, wonder why???!!!....................

 

[malcolmX]

Over the years I have seen many accidents on site, some minor and some serious, broken legs, arms, fractured skulls and crushed fingers.
Safety today is far better than it was in the old days, now you have hard hats, steel capped boots etc before you can go on site.
Three sites I have worked on had fatal injuries and one plumber I know died from being poisoned after brazing up some pipe in a confined space using that silverloy stuff, he took ill when he got home, he was taken to hospital where he died two days later, Billy thompson he was called he was only about 24.
Of the three guys killed on site I witnessed the third one, it was a young brickies labourer he was not more than 20' from me, I was using a tripod bending machine and he was filling one of those big diesel mixers as he threw a spade full of sand in the mixer the spade got caught in the paddles and was ripped out of his hands and came down with such a crack on his head it split it wide open.
An ambulance came and he was declared dead on the spot, I was in a state of shock and was told to take a week off work to get over it.

 

[malcolmX]

I've worked on small medium and big sites, power stations and chemical plants etc, and as far as I am concerned these union reps in their flash suits and cars are nothing but trouble.
One firm I worked for doing instrument pipefitting on chemical plants was a great firm to work for, belting foreman and supervisor.
Good working conditions, nice warm cabin, overalls and jackets provided plus a free laundry service and subsidised canteen plus the money was good.
Some of the idiots decided we needed union representation, they appointed a shop steward and what a t*** he turned out to be, in the end I jacked up I couldn't be doing with him.

 

[malcolmX]

I started my apprenticeship second week of january 1957, what a culture shock that was, It was freezing cold and wet.
The boss introduced me to the guy I was going to be working with, he said do as Jimmy tells you and you will be ok, start a**sing about and he will belt you one, which he did many a time.
The first thing Jimmy said was, right lad your job for the minute is to carry me tools, jeez they must have weighed half hundredweight, I only weighed in at about 7 stone in them days.
In those days plumbobs used to carry their tools in ex-army haversacks, heavier tools at the bottom and smaller tools at the top.
Getting to and from jobs was either shanks pony, bus or pushing a handcart loaded with ladders, tools, slates, 1/2" and 3/4" lead pipe, putty and paint in tins that were on the shafts of the cart, you name it we pushed it for miles, not so many vans in them days.

 

[geraint]

Right so this is where we are, just give me a minute to collect my memories.
Anyone else got any old time memories or any funny happenings while on the job please tell us and if you have ever been chased around around the house by some lusty woman please change the name or you might end up being sued

malcolm x...., so you are alive.....

do you still live with elvis.... ah ha

 

[John506]

I'm not an old time plumber, but one stupid thing I done in the past...

Vent snapped on a rad, so shut off the valves and removed the vent (to take with me to get a replacement as it was a really odd vent).

Customer was worried his kids might mess with the TRV and water would p*ss out of the vent, so I suggested I took the TRV head off so they couldn't mess with it.

Fook me I've never screwed a TRV head on so quick when I heard the water rushing up the radiator!!

 

[malcolmX]

Right so this is where we are, just give me a minute to collect my memories.
Anyone else got any old time memories or any funny happenings while on the job please tell us and if you have ever been chased around around the house by some lusty woman please change the name or you might end up being sued

malcolm x...., so you are alive.....

do you still live with elvis.... ah ha

geraint,
You ain't nuthin but a hound dawg, in 56 as I was leaving school, the king was heard on the old steam radio night and day with his rendition of heart break hotel, no one to touch Elvis, what a waste of a god given talent

 

[Whitespirit66]

I started my apprenticeship second week of january 1957, what a culture shock that was, It was freezing cold and wet.
The boss introduced me to the guy I was going to be working with, he said do as Jimmy tells you and you will be ok, start a**sing about and he will belt you one, which he did many a time.
The first thing Jimmy said was, right lad your job for the minute is to carry me tools, jeez they must have weighed half hundredweight, I only weighed in at about 7 stone in them days.
In those days plumbobs used to carry their tools in ex-army haversacks, heavier tools at the bottom and smaller tools at the top.
Getting to and from jobs was either shanks pony, bus or pushing a handcart loaded with ladders, tools, slates, 1/2" and 3/4" lead pipe, putty and paint in tins that were on the shafts of the cart, you name it we pushed it for miles, not so many vans in them days.

When my father was growing up in Bristol during the 30s, the local plumber used to travel around on his push-bike, with a small coil of lead pipe on the handlebars.

When I look at the ton of stuff I've got in the back of my van, I wonder how they did their job with so little equipment and tools.

 

[Nige F]

Skill and a labourer/mate to help

 

[Deleted member 105431]

Skill and a labourer/mate to help

Yes unblocking bogs is immensely skillful, makes open heart surgery look like childsplay.

 

[malcolmX]

Skill and a labourer/mate to help

Yes unblocking bogs is immensely skillful, makes open heart surgery look like childsplay.

Nowt wrong with unblocking a bog, i've unblocked hundreds.

 

[Johnmelad502]

Nowt wrong with unblocking a bog, i've unblocked hundreds.

If you were more particular about what you ate, you would not block them in the first place.